Yuliana stopped in her tracks, glared in the direction the sound had come from, and let out a fierce shout.
"What damn bitch was that? Get out here right now before I tear your tongue out!"
In an instant, the surroundings went quiet. The princesses were momentarily at a loss, having never before heard such vicious abuse.
They did not know what to do.
"P-Please hold back."
The flustered Kasim hastily tried to intervene, but she would not listen. Coldly shaking off Kasim's hand, Yuliana
glared fiercely and looked all around.
"You damn bitch. A piece of trash like you, who doesn't even have the guts to step forward and just chatters from behind, truly is pathetic
garbage."
Yuliana's stream of abuse continued. Eventually, a group of people pushed through the crowd and
revealed themselves. It seemed they could no longer endure the relentless shower of insults.
Kasim shook his head with an expression that said he couldn't stop her.
'Hah. This troublemaker causes problems wherever she goes.'
Even so, he carefully studied the attire of the group that had appeared with a sharp gaze. Kasim's
face flickered with an expression of relief. In that fleeting instant, he had determined which kingdom
the opposition belonged to.
'That's a relief. At least she didn't pick a fight with a princess from a major power.'
The group that had pushed through the people numbered roughly thirty in total. In the center,
a woman who was fairly beautiful but had a rather fiery appearance was radiating venomous eyes.
Beside her stood roughly a dozen handsome knights clad in ornate armor, and on their armor
was emblazoned the crest of the Kingdom of Servalti, a commercial kingdom of the south.
It was a small kingdom with a population of about two hundred thousand, but because commerce was highly developed, it was a considerably wealthy
kingdom. The woman who appeared to be the princess of Servalti glared fiercely at
Yuliana.
"Truly an uncultured brat. How can you utter such words? Have you even been properly
educated?"
Unfortunately, she was absolutely no match for Yuliana in a war of words.
"I had a rough idea from hearing you speak, but seeing you in person, you really are an ill-mannered bitch. A retarded
bitch."
"……."
"A bitch like you is exactly the kind who doesn't belong here. Shouldn't you be cooped up at home, tagging along after
some man's ass? Why did you come here?"
Confronted with such vicious curses she had never heard in her life, the Servalti princess could only be rendered speechless.
Yuliana poured out insults as if she had nothing left to lose.
"What? Got nothing to say? If you're scared, why don't you sic your mutts on me? At least the mongrels
look handsome enough."
The faces of the mutts(?) standing beside the Servalti princess instantly flushed red.
Had their opponent not been a woman, they likely would have drawn their swords without mercy. One man
ground his teeth and stepped forward. He appeared to be the leader of the escort knights, and from his voice, he was clearly the one from before. Judging by the way his temples bulged, he seemed to be a powerful expert on the level of a
Paladin.
"I'm warning you—shut that filthy mouth at once. Our princess is not someone a worthless
wench like you can dare approach."
At the vicious words poured onto Yuliana, the mercenaries' expressions hardened. The opposition
was also insulting Yuliana mercilessly. But Yuliana
did not seem particularly bothered.
"Oh-ho? The puppy's barking quite fiercely……."
At Yuliana's timely retort, the surrounding people burst into raucous laughter. The man who had suddenly become a barking
mutt flushed red and purple with unbearable humiliation. His hand twitched repeatedly, as if he wanted to cut the insolent
wench in half at any moment.
"Stop!"
Seeing that, the Servalti princess hurriedly inserted herself between them. Because causing an incident here might
mean she couldn't attend the selection ceremony, she resolved to deal with her opponent through other means. Having collected her thoughts, the Servalti princess glared at
Yuliana with burning eyes.
"Are you also a princess attending the selection ceremony?"
"I am. Why? Are you trying to back out now?"
Her face flushed red, the Servalti princess barely composed herself.
"I challenge you to a duel."
"What?"
"You have gravely damaged my honor. Therefore, I shall have my proxy claim the price for
it."
Having finished speaking, the Servalti princess turned her head. It was precisely that man who was still trembling from
Yuliana's curses.
"Lord Oswald Peyron."
The man dropped to one knee as if he had been waiting.
"You called?"
"I appoint you as my champion. Therefore, see that you firmly exact recompense for the insult I have suffered."
"Understood."
The man called Oswald immediately prepared for battle. Wearing a breastplate and pauldrons,
the man pressed his helm down firmly and accepted the bastard sword handed to him by a subordinate knight.
Watching that, the Servalti princess glared at Yuliana as if to say, "Get a taste of this."
"You too, produce a champion. If you have no one to come forward, then you shall pay for insulting me with your
life."
Listening to this, Yuliana was furious. Her words had been a bit excessive, but weren't they the ones who picked the fight first? Her eyes rolling back at the demand to pay with her life, Yuliana threw herself at the Servalti
princess.
"I don't need a proxy. Let's fight directly ourselves."
In that instant, a frigid sword flash shot toward Yuliana's chest.
Flash.
It was an attack launched by Oswald, who had finished preparing for battle, wearing a triumphant smile. Because he had a suitable excuse, there was not the slightest mercy in his handiwork. He seemed
determined to kill.
"Daring to ambush our princess—unforgivable."
Oswald's attack seemed to pierce straight into Yuliana's chest. However.
Crack.
Fragments of a shattered sword fell scattering down. Before Yuliana, a dust-covered figure stood firm, gripping a sword tightly. It was Mitchell. He glared sharply at Oswald as if he could not
forgive him.
"Th-this."
Oswald raised his right hand with a troubled expression. The massive bastard sword had already
been shattered, leaving only the hilt. The opponent's movements had been so fast that he hadn't sensed a thing—he had no idea when he had intervened.
"He's no one to be taken lightly."
Having received a new sword from a subordinate knight, Oswald tensed up and scrutinized the opponent's
face. Aside from being covered in dust, he was an extremely ordinary young lad.
Mitchell's face was rigidly stiff right now.
"Daring to target Yuliana's life……."
Though Mitchell had suffered countless times at Yuliana's hands, even he could not allow her to die. It was a love-hate relationship, but how much had accumulated over the time they had spent together? Therefore, Oswald, who had unhesitatingly aimed a killing blow at Yuliana, could not possibly look good to him. Mitchell
stared straight into Oswald's eyes and roared.
"I will step forward as her champion."
No sooner had he spoken than bluish lines surged densely from the sword he held. As the lines converged, forming a tangible aura approximately one meter long from the sword, Oswald was so startled his eyes nearly popped
out.
'Wha—a completed Aura Blade? Then that means he's a Sword Master? Good heavens…….'
The moment he confirmed the completed Aura Blade, Oswald's fighting spirit was completely crushed. Although he was a Paladin, he could not hope to fight a
Sword Master. Having never dreamed that this shabbily dressed opponent could be a Sword Master, he faltered and took
a step back. Mitchell glared sharply at Oswald with eyes that looked ready to devour him.
"Your princess has likewise insulted the princess I serve. Therefore, I will
be your opponent."
"……."
Oswald's face grew rock-hard. Of course, he had absolutely no desire to fight a
Sword Master. While he was racking his brains to somehow get out of this situation,
someone unexpectedly stepped in to help him.
"I would like to resolve this matter myself this time."
A startled Mitchell turned his head and saw Gerald's stiff face. He appeared quite furious, his face flushed red at the fact that
Yuliana had been attacked.
'I see. With his left-handed swordsmanship…….'
Mitchell stepped back without a second thought. He judged that Gerald's skill was
sufficient.
"Be careful. He is a Paladin, after all……."
"Understood."
Oswald's face was filled with delight.
'What a relief.'
The Sword Master he had feared stepping back and some young lad stepping in was extremely welcome to Oswald. Just in case the opponent had hidden strength, Oswald scrutinized the lad's
appearance. He was a boy who didn't look a day past twenty, with soft downy fluff on his face, and judging by his awkward gait, he was almost certainly
lame in one leg.
"I will step forward as Princess Yuliana's champion. Do you consent?"
Oswald nodded as if there was nothing to think about.
"Very well. I admire your courage, so I shall face you personally."
He adjusted his stance with an expression of great relief. From the looks of it, he seemed to think victory was already in the
bag. Yuliana watched silently.
She seemed quite curious about the power of Gerald's left-handed swordsmanship. Before the moment was lost,
the Servalti princess swiftly declared the start of the duel.
"Then let the duel begin. Of course, I state here that neither party bears any responsibility for casualties resulting from this
duel."
Her face clearly showed her relief that Oswald would not have to fight a Sword Master. Yuliana nodded as if she had no objections.
"Fine."
And so, an unexpected champion duel began. Gerald, who had taken on the role of Yuliana's champion, calmed his mind and glared at his opponent. Wearing nothing but leather armor,
Gerald held a shield, slightly covering his body.
He was in stark contrast to his opponent, who was decked out in full plate mail without a gap. In that state, Gerald silently etched Daemon's advice into his mind.
"-Left-handed swordsmanship is outstanding in offense but inevitably has certain weaknesses in defense. You must overcome those weaknesses by skillfully wielding your shield. Furthermore, if you use your shield
well, it has the advantage of not exposing the timing of your attacks to the enemy.-"
Gerald had plenty of confidence. He had been thoroughly trained by Mitchell, as well as by the Death Knights, in attack and defense using a
shield, and through repeated sparring, the techniques had
become perfectly ingrained in his body. So even if his opponent was a Paladin, there was no need to
fear. Moreover, his opponent was clearly looking down on him. Taking that
alone into account, this was practically a finished fight.
'Heh heh heh. Reckless lame brat.'
As expected, Oswald completely underestimated Gerald. It couldn't be helped—there was nearly a twofold difference in build, and the quality of their armor wasn't even
comparable. Thinking he needed to end this quickly, he initiated a preemptive attack.
"Hiyaaah!"
The massive bastard sword tore through the air with fierce force, coming down to split Gerald's diminutive body in two. A faint Aura Blade formed on the long sword's surface. He intended to cleave his opponent and shield apart in a single stroke. But his opponent lightly leaped aside and
evaded the attack. Oswald couldn't help but feel a measure of wariness at the way he evaded as naturally as flowing water.
'Not bad. Seeing him step forward so boldly, he does have some skill.'
Oswald decided to make the most of his weapon's advantage. The bastard sword he held was easily over half again as long as his opponent's sword. In other words, while his attacks could reach his opponent, it was highly likely that his opponent's attacks could not reach him. Recalling this fact,
Oswald spun his body and began swinging his sword furiously.
Whiiiiing.
A chain of attacks utilizing centrifugal force to the utmost continuously targeted Gerald's high, middle, and low lines. His long sword held enough force to shatter the shield in one blow.